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Demographics of patient visits during high daily census in a pediatric ED

Nathan L Timm1, Richard M Ruddy

  • 1Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA. nathan.timm@cchmc.org

The American Journal of Emergency Medicine
|December 17, 2009
PubMed

Insights

During high patient volume days in pediatric emergency departments (PEDs), there is an increase in younger children and those with Medicaid or self-pay insurance. Acuity and admission rates remain consistent regardless of daily census.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Health Services Research
  • Demographic Analysis

Background:

  • Understanding patient demographics in pediatric emergency departments (PEDs) is crucial for resource allocation and operational planning.
  • Daily patient census can fluctuate significantly, potentially impacting the characteristics of the patient population served.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize patient demographics within a PED across varying daily census levels (low, average, high).
  • To identify demographic shifts in pediatric patients presenting to the emergency department based on daily patient volume.

Main Methods:

  • A retrospective analysis of a single PED's patient data from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2006.
  • Daily census data was categorized into quintiles (very low to very high).
  • Patient variables including age, healthcare coverage, acuity, and disposition were analyzed using chi-squared tests.

Main Results:

  • A higher proportion of younger children (under 2 years) presented during high census days (P < .0001).
  • The percentage of patients with Medicaid or self-pay insurance increased with higher daily census, while commercially insured patients decreased (P < .0001).
  • Patient acuity and admission rates did not significantly differ across census quintiles.

Conclusions:

  • High census days in PEDs are associated with a greater proportion of younger children.
  • Government-assisted (Medicaid) and self-pay patients are more prevalent during periods of high patient volume in PEDs.
Abstract

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